Questions
by HamhaPHKFan
Summary: Pre Beast Hunters - Miko is very, very bored. Everyone else seems busy. She decides to entertain herself by speaking with the one bot she never really spends any time with. However, seeking thrills may end up getting her in trouble. Again.
1. Chapter 1

Miko sighed as she sat sprawled on the leather sofa, arm hanging limp over the side as she watched the television screen with unimpressed green eyes. Her normal multicolored outfit was wrinkled from her slouched position, knee-high booted feet resting on the table in front of her. She blew the bangs of her pink highlighted black hair out of her face, leaning her head back against the top of the couch. She was so _bored_.

Rafael sat next to her, playing a new video game he received as a gift from his parents for his recent high marks in school. Bumblebee was standing behind them, watching over Rafael as the child completed another level of the game. Miko had lost interest a while ago, as a teleporting puzzle game wasn't that interesting to her, though the robotic guide's dialogue was pretty entertaining.

The only reason she wasn't off doing something reckless with Bulkhead was because the former Wrecker was on a scouting mission. He had said that he most likely would be back in an hour or so, but to Miko it felt like centuries. There weren't a lot of things she could do in the base that would appeal to her interests, and even if she did find something she wanted to do, it would probably be slightly illegal. Either that or no one could do it with her.

Jack and Arcee had gone off to race, another one-on-one against Vince. Towards the end of Jack's shift at KO Burger, Arcee waited in a parking spot, and was forced to keep her cover while Vince decided to torment Jack even more by spray-painting Arcee pink. It took almost three hours to get the paint off completely, and by then Jack had already called Vince, who then told Jack that they would settle it on the track. Miko had overheard the call, and Jack immediately made her promise to keep it a secret.

Miko sighed again. The robot in the video game began to tell Rafael about how a cube won't threaten to stab him, which managed to make Miko crack a smile, but it disappeared as quickly as it came. She lifted her head and looked over to Rafael, who was still smiling away. Miko raised an eyebrow. "How are you _enjoying_ this?"

Rafael glanced over to Miko, not at all upset about being interrupted. "It's a thinking game. You can't get through a level without solving a puzzle."

"Yeah, I know," Miko said, crossing her arms. "_How_ are you enjoying this?"

Rafael rolled his eyes playfully. "I find it fun."

"You would," Miko countered, sinking deeper into the sofa. The game wasn't multiplayer, so Miko could only watch, and even though she enjoyed it at first, passing ten levels and seemingly getting no where while she did nothing quickly drained whatever enthusiasm Miko had.

Miko felt like if she sat in that sofa any longer, she would become a part of it. Miko slowly sat up straight, stretching her arms before standing. With a small kick in her step, Miko waltzed along the catwalk, looking for something that piqued her interest. She suspected that even a spider would entertain her more than anything else in the base, though she really didn't want to find out. Suppressing a shudder at the thought of one of those creepy-crawly things, Miko crossed her arms as she almost inspected the base, looking for something to _do_.

Rafael and Bumblebee were playing a game, Jack and Arcee were racing, Bulkhead was out, Optimus...

Well, Miko didn't know what Optimus was doing. Probably something boring. She wasn't planning on finding out.

So that left Ratchet.

Ratchet was standing by himself, as usual, pressing buttons on the GroundBridge monitor and grumbling as he did so. Miko sighed. She was going to have to settle for _Ratchet_. He was a pretty okay guy, as far as alien robots went, but he could be so _annoying _sometimes. Miko assumed that he would probably complain about some stupid error message on the monitor, then Rafael would hack it with his super-techno skills and then everything would be fine for two minutes before another error appeared and so on...

Well, Miko knew she had nothing better to do. She walked to the corner of the catwalk, watching Ratchet fiddle with something else on the monitor before mumbling to himself yet again.

"Hey, Ratchet," Miko said, propping herself against the railing and looking down at the Autobot Medic. "What's up?"

Ratchet paused his work and glanced over to Miko, a look in his optics telling her that he had absolutely no idea what she meant by that.

Miko rolled her eyes, and clarified. "What are you doing?"

Ratchet huffed and went back to what he was working on beforehand. **"**If you _must_ know, I'm attempting to limit the amount of Energon necessary to power the GroundBridge. With such a short supply, we can't stand to lose our remaining reserves."

Miko didn't really understand what the Medic had said, so she just nodded. "Huh."

After a moment of silence, Ratchet mimicked the sound, though he sounded more unimpressed than anything. He continued fiddling with wires and cords located under the control panel. Miko thought that what he was doing might interest her for a moment, but she was quickly proved wrong. He didn't seem to actually be _doing_ anything, even though he clearly was.

Miko gave a yawn of boredom, then she saw something out of the corner of her eye that made her perk up right away. She looked towards the object, then Ratchet, then back to the object. Miko smiled, pushing off of the railing and running over to what she saw.

Ratchet was rewiring two of the cables underneath the GroundBridge controls, and he almost shocked himself when a loud screeching chord wailed throughout the room. Ratchet jumped up, leaving the cables dangling, optics darting towards where the noise had come from.

There, he saw Miko with a hand raised as if just swung, guitar in hand, plugged into an amp at the highest volume. Miko beamed. "I thought you could use some music!"

"Miko, I'm _busy_," Ratchet said with frustration. He used a free hand to gesture in any direction other than where he was, then he knelt down and tried to fix the damages caused by carelessly dropping the sparking cables. "Why don't you go bother someone _else_?"

His last sentence sounded more like a demand than a question. Miko gave a small pout, then she dragged her feet over to where the amp rested and she set the guitar down next to it. After she did, she placed her hands on her hips and huffed.

Well, Miko added Ratchet to the list of people and bots too busy to entertain her. She had already confirmed Rafael, Bumblebee, Jack, Arcee, Bulkhead, and Ratchet. Miko blinked.

So actually, that left _Optimus_.

Miko held back a groan. The last thing she wanted was to listen to another one of his speeches.

But, she was beginning to get desperate.

With a sigh of resignation, Miko walked over to the stairs, trailing a finger along the railing as she hopped down the steps. Once she made it to the bottom, she looked around in one last attempt to find something more amusing than _Optimus_, but it was futile. Miko slouched slightly as she began making her way down the giant hallway, looking for a sign of the big 'Bot.

She had been walking for three minutes, and she was already starting to give up, when she heard a steady rhythm of slow, heavy footsteps. Miko listened for a moment longer, then she began running down the corridors, trying to find the source of the noise. She ran for a while before she turned a corner and saw a tall, blue and red figure walking away from her. Miko almost smiled, then she sprinted into the hallway.

"Hey, Optimus!" Miko called, running to catch up with the Autobot leader, who slowed and turned around at the sound of his name. Miko stopped a few steps away from him, bending over and taking a breath before she spoke. "What'cha doing?"

Optimus watched as Miko tried to catch her breath, waiting a brief moment before replying. "I am merely patrolling the halls."

"What, you think some Decepticreep is gonna sneak in here and steal your stuff?" Miko asked after inhaling deeply again, then she stood up straight. "That's not going to happen. If someone like Makeshift poses as one of you guys again, Bulkhead can just beat him up!"

Optimus shook his head. "It is a necessary precaution."

"You scared of a little indoor battle?" Miko asked with an eyebrow raised.

"We can not risk another Decepticon infiltrator gaining access to our base," Optimus concluded, then he turned back around and began walking down the hallway again.

Miko stood there for a moment longer, before running to catch up to the Autobot leader, and once she did she slowed until she was strolling beside him.

Optimus had expected Miko to run off after he stopped talking, but she remained next to him, taking about three steps for each one he took. Optimus watched her for a moment longer, before he voiced his thoughts. "Is there something you need, Miko?"

"I'm bored," Miko replied, crossing her arms like a small child who had been told that they weren't allowed to get the toy they wanted. "I don't have anything to do. No one has anything fun to talk about."

Optimus nodded to show he understood her reasoning. "Are both Jack and Rafael busy at the moment?"

"Rafael's playing a weird video game. The robot's cool, but there's too many puzzles," Miko explained. "Jack isn't here."

Optimus seemed to tilt his head slightly at what Miko said. Miko almost laughed at such an innocent gesture coming from someone like _Optimus_. Before she had the chance to giggle about it, Optimus spoke up again. "Do you know where Jack is?"

"He's off racing with Vince," Miko said with a dismissive gesture. She stopped walking for a moment, blinking, then she started moving again and looked back up to the Autobot leader. "Ah. He told me not to tell you that."

At first, Optimus said nothing, then he gave a small nod. "I see."

The silence that came after was strange. It wasn't uncomfortable, just strange. The Autobot base wasn't usually so _quiet_. Miko didn't like quiet. Quiet wasn't entertaining. A piano was no match for an electric guitar. Her host parents were no match for Bulkhead. Miko decided that she didn't want quiet any longer, so she let her eyes gaze back up to Optimus.

"What did you do today?" Miko asked suddenly. Optimus looked down at the small child walking next to him, still curious about why she was still staying with him. None the less, he answered her question.

"Before you and Rafael had arrived, Ratchet had detected an Energon signal. Bumblebee and I went to investigate, only to find that it was a Decepticon trap," Optimus said, his voice making his words sound like an amazing tale, even though it was just a simple explanation. "Bumblebee was able to push through them quickly, and he had succeeded in-"

"That's not what I asked," Miko interrupted, rolling her eyes. "If I wanted to know what Bumblebee did, I would talk to Raf'. I asked, 'what did _you_ do today'?"

After she asked that, again, Miko realized that they had arrived back in the main room of the base. Ratchet was still messing with the GroundBridge, but he appeared to have solved the issue he was trying to fix before. Rafael was telling Bumblebee how he managed to get through a puzzle that was apparently so complex it made the Autobot slouch heavily and stare at the screen with wide optics.

Bulkhead wasn't back. Miko would have to keep talking to _Optimus_.

Miko skipped back up the stairs, spinning around on the catwalk to locate Optimus, who had proceeded to look over Ratchet's progress. Ratchet proudly reported his success, and Optimus gave a small smile, along with placing a gentle hand on the medic's shoulder in thanks before he began to walk away again, heading back towards to hallway.

"Oh no you don't!" Miko called, and everyone in the room turned to look at her, Ratchet with exasperation, Rafael and Bumblebee with surprise, and Optimus with a surprising calm, considering the child had just yelled at him. Miko crossed her arms. "You still haven't answered my question."

Optimus turned around fully and watched Miko for a moment, eyeing her carefully, before he nodded silently and walked back over to the catwalk, close where Miko stood.

"I'll make it even easier for you," Miko said with a smirk. She waltzed over to where she could clearly see the Autobot leader and leaned against the railing. Miko shifted her footing so that one boot was planted firmly on the floor, while the other only touched with the tip. She crossed her arms. "Did you do anything _alone _today?"

Optimus said nothing for a moment, then he nodded. "Yes."

"What did'cha do?" Miko asked, tapping her fingers lazily on the railing.

Again, Optimus' response was delayed, as if he had trouble thinking of what he should say. "I was investigating a possible Decepticon sighting, after Agent Fowler reported that civilians had witnessed a vehicle speeding without a driver. I had already been driving closest to where the sighting occurred, but when I arrived I was informed that it was a false alarm."

"_Bo_-ring!" Miko sang, kicking the floor lightly with her boot. "Are you _always_ working? Why don't you do anything _fun?_"

"We are at war, Miko," Ratchet stepped in, pausing his recalibrations. "We don't have time for anything _you_ would consider 'fun'."

"You seemed to think our science projects were very 'fun'," Miko countered.

Ratchet went quiet quickly, then he grumbled something under his breath as he returned to his work.

Miko gave a victorious smirk, then she turned back to Optimus. "Okay, so you don't do anything fun _now_. What did you do when you were Orion Pax?"

The name and question seemed to catch Optimus by surprise, but he swiftly regained his calm demeanor and answered. "I was an archivist for the Iacon Hall of Records."

Miko waited for him to continue, and when he didn't she rolled her eyes again and decided to help him along. "What did you do?"

Optimus spoke carefully, though Miko didn't understand why. "I sorted information, which was often concerning historical documents or records, and I would lead others to that information if they requested so."

"So you were a librarian," Miko concluded, eyelids half-covering her eyes in mock boredom. Miko smirked again. "Fowler was right."

Optimus watched Miko for a moment, though he didn't deny the child's claim. That was enough confirmation for Miko. She gave a short laugh, than she stood up straight.

"Come _on_," Miko drawled, throwing a fake punch in the air. "Where's the _action? _ Tell me about the fights!"

"When I was Orion Pax, there was no war," Optimus explained. "I had never fought anyone before then."

Miko groaned, throwing her head back. "You gotta give me _something_, here! Did you ever get into a _big_ argument? Ever got a punch thrown at you? A thumb war? Did anyone _ever_ try to beat someone up?"

Optimus went quiet once again. His posture hadn't changed the entire time he and Miko had been speaking. The others in the room were surprised that he wasn't getting annoyed with Miko's constant questioning. Though, they knew that it was _Optimus_.

After a moment, Optimus nodded. "Once."

"'Once' what?" Miko snapped to attention, leaning against the railing eagerly. "Which one; a beating or a punch?"

"Neither," Optimus shook his head. "An engineer and a seeker began arguing in one of the lower levels of the Hall of Records. Many were concerned that they would end up hurting someone if they were not calmed immediately."

"So what?" Miko asked excitedly, almost jumping with enthusiasm. "Did you beat them to a pulp? Did you throw them out of the building?"

Optimus paused. "I managed to defuse the situation with words."

Miko stayed completely still for a moment, then her shoulders slumped and she stared at the Autobot leader with disbelief. "_What_."

"There was some confusion that the seeker had stolen something from the engineer, but the seeker claimed he had acquired the object through other means," Optimus explained, expression unchanged. "I informed the engineer that he had forgotten the object in one of the higher towers. They apologized and went on their way."

Miko gaped at him. _Surely _Optimus was kidding. His life could _not_ have actually been that dull.

"So, Orion was just a little goody-two-shoes, then," Miko summarized, wiggling her fingers in the air teasingly.

Optimus did not completely understand the term she used, though he didn't ask about it. Miko snorted, then she huffed, glancing towards the entrance to the base yet again. Bulkhead still wasn't back. Miko was beginning to think that the video game would be more entertaining than the talk she was having right then. She looked over to Rafael and Bumblebee, both having stopped eavesdropping on their conversation, and returned to solving puzzles over and over and over...

Miko looked back up at Optimus, resting her chin on her hands. She had to think of something else.

"Okay, let's go back to more recent events," Miko said. Optimus nodded, and then Miko spoke again. "I know this was a while ago, but I never got a chance to ask about the details. What happened when you went into Unicron?"

Before Optimus could say anything in return, a loud beeping could be heard coming from the monitors where Ratchet stood. Ratchet shut off the alarm and looked over something that had popped up on the screen.

"An underground Energon deposit," Ratchet reported, sounding surprised. He adjusted a few more settings on the monitor, and a map opened up, a circle surrounding the area in which the Energon was detected. Somewhere farther North than Nevada. Miko wasn't exactly the best at geography, so she couldn't tell exactly where.

"Are there any Decepticon signals in that vicinity?" Optimus asked, stepping towards the Autobot medic.

Ratchet shook his head. "None. If we're lucky, their sensors haven't detected it yet."

Optimus nodded before speaking. "I will investigate the area."

Ratchet nodded in return, walking over to the GroundBridge controls and pulling a switch. The GroundBridge whirled to life, colors dancing on the frames of the nearby Autobots. Optimus took a few steps and stood directly in front of the portal, preparing to transform, and Miko assumed 'roll out'.

Miko suddenly perked up. "Can I come?"

Both Ratchet and Optimus looked over to her, the former with disapproval, and Miko could tell that the latter was going to object, so she spoke first.

"Come on!" Miko pleaded, arching her back. "You let Jack go with Arcee when you detected Energon that other time! Sure Airachnid ended up being there but that was just a coincidence!"

Optimus didn't reply at first, debating internally about what he should do. Then, he gave a nod, transforming into his vehicle mode and opening his passenger door. Miko pumped a fist in the air and hissed an exclamation of excitement before running down the steps, almost tripping over her own feet as she came up to Optimus' passenger seat. Miko hopped inside, Optimus securing her with his seatbelt before starting his engine. Ratchet watched on as his leader and the human child drove right into the GroundBridge, and after he was certain that they made it through to the other side, he pushed the controls back, and the light instantly vanished.


	2. Chapter 2

Miko and Optimus soon found their way on the other side of the GroundBridge, and Miko quickly took in the sights. She could see mountains in the distance, but there were many huge hills closer than that. She could hear the sound of rushing water coming from somewhere nearby. And there were trees. Lots and lots of trees. Miko mused that they seemed to be in the middle of some kind of forest.

Miko also noticed that they were off-road, so there weren't any signs to look at. The ground was rougher than a paved street, which made Miko shake softly each time Optimus drove over a rough patch. Miko looked to her left, where Optimus' steering wheel was turning lightly from side to side in order to continue moving straight. Miko watched for a moment before she voice her thoughts. "Where are we?"

"Douglas County, Oregon." Optimus answered without hesitation, the Autobot symbol on his steering wheel glowing with each syllable.

"Huh," Miko responded halfheartedly, and very unimpressed. She rested her chin in her hand as she returned her gaze through Optimus' window, eyes glazed over. "Nice view, Doug."

Optimus agreed with that statement, but he didn't give any sign to show that he did. He continued driving, slowly as to not crash into any trees. He didn't want to risk the child inside of him getting injured. He turned left at least a mile before he would have been seen or heard by a group of hikers, taking a longer route to get where he intended to go.

That wasn't good news for Miko. She sighed as she crossed her legs, trying to show that she wasn't pleased with their progress without actually saying it. Optimus didn't respond, so Miko assumed that he didn't get the message. After a minute of slouching in her seat that seemed to last way longer than it should have, Miko tried to start a conversation.

"Why are you still driving?" Miko asked with an eyebrow raised. "Didn't Ratchet GroundBridge you to where the Energon is?"

"Our detection systems only manage to discover the general area of where an Energon deposit is located," Optimus said, and he didn't continue.

The silence returned. Miko would have groaned if she hadn't been expecting that. Of course she expected that. She was riding with _Optimus_, after all. The mech who could rival Soundwave with his ability to say _absolutely nothing_ for hours on end, though when he did talk it was with either one or two words, or some long-winded speech.

It was quiet again, besides the sound of water and driving over dirt and grass but that wasn't entertaining her in the _slightest_. The exchange student huffed, placing her hands behind her head and turning to face the steering wheel again.

"Have you ever made a move on any of the Bots?" Miko asked suddenly.

Optimus didn't respond right away, and Miko assumed that the question caught him of guard. Still, he answered. "No."

Miko continued pressing. "Cons?"

"No."

"Have you ever turned an animal into road kill?"

"No."

"Have you ever ran a red light?"

"No."

"Optimus, you're very boring."

The Autobot leader didn't reply to that. Miko sighed again, the feeling of boredom slowly taking over her like it had back at the base. The video game was starting to seem like the most interesting thing in the world. Staying back at the base began to sound like a better idea. Maybe she should have done that instead of going out with the dullest 'Bot she had _ever met_. She didn't know what she _expected_ to happen.

Well, there was no way for her to get back right then.

Miko spoke up again, though she didn't remove her gaze from the window. "You never answered my question."

For some reason Optimus didn't sound annoyed at all from the constant questioning, like the child knew Ratchet most definitely would. Because it was _Optimus_. "What is it, Miko?"

"What was it like when you battled inside Unicron?" Miko asked, looking back to the wheel again. "You and most of the bots were there. And King Con."

Optimus didn't respond right away, as if taking a moment to formulate his answer.

"We fought off Unicron's antibodies, but the Dark Energon was beginning to take its toll on us," Optimus said, slowing down over a more rocky part of the ground. Miko bounced up and down, and she took some enjoyment in that, but after Optimus' tires returned to flatter land, the pleasure immediately subsided. Optimus spoke up again. "Megatron and I entered Unicron's spark chamber, and I believe I returned Unicron to stasis."

Miko watched the wheel skeptically, wiggling her fingers to emphasize the last word. "You 'believe'?"

Again, there was a pause before Optimus answered. "I am afraid I do not remember what happened after I unleashed the power of the Matrix."

"Really?" Miko stared with a mixture of surprise and disbelief. She had heard Ratchet and Optimus talking about that fact before, but she didn't really take it seriously. "_Nothing?_"

"No," Optimus replied. He might have grown quieter than before, but that could have easily been Miko's imagination. "The next thing I remember was Jack holding the key to Vector Sigma before me. I do not know what transpired during my time aboard the Nemesis."

Miko noticed that Optimus sounded kind of... ashamed. She didn't know why. It wasn't like he tried to kill the other Autobots while he thought he was Orion Pax. He didn't even try to kill the _Decepticons_ when he was _Optimus Prime_. Miko shrugged it off. It didn't really matter, anyway.

"Well, you went all Decepticon on us, and you helped Megs' get the location of relics," Miko answered, in some sort of an attempt to be helpful. She shrugged. "That's what we think, anyway."

Optimus hummed in thought, but he didn't respond. Miko wondered if he believed her or not. She waited for a moment before she sighed.

"It's not like you hurt anybody," Miko continued will a roll of her eyes, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "It's not a big deal."

Optimus still said nothing, and Miko was actually wondering if something was wrong. She didn't think she said anything offensive. It's not like she told Optimus that his speeches made her zone out sometimes, or that why he was fighting wasn't important or anything like that.

"What about before, when you battled Megatron?" Miko tried to start another conversation. Perhaps something that Optimus remembered better would be more interesting, though Miko was beginning to have her doubts. "You came back looking pretty beat up. Bulkhead came back while you were on the Nemesis, but Ratchet said that you were near a volcano."

"After I had Bulkhead return to base, I issued a challange to Megatron. He had a GroundBridge opened to his location," Optimus explained, and once again he didn't elaborate. Miko decided that she had to help him along again.

"Is he, like, the strongest Cybertronian ever?" Miko asked, crossing her legs as she spoke. "I mean, he beat you to a pulp. Did you even get a hit in?"

Optimus' hesitations were beginning to get on Miko's nerves. She didn't understand how it could be so hard to _talk_ to someone. His speeches showed that he could. He shouldn't have had such a _problem_.

Were Optimus in his bipedal mode, Miko was sure he would have nodded as he answered her question. "Yes."

"Really?! How many? Did knock him down? Did you sock him in his nuts and bolts?" Miko almost bounced in her seat, growing very excited. "Come on, give me the details!"

Optimus quickly reviewed the battle in his processor before responding. "I managed to deflect Megatron's canon blasts."

"Yeah?" Miko said, her excitement level instantly fading and she sounded unimpressed. She had seen that done before. It wasn't that cool of a move to her anymore. "And?"

It took a second for Optimus to answer, knowing that Miko wanted to hear something climatic but unable to understand what _was_. "I sent him off of a cliff."

"_And_?" Miko pressed harder, trying to get an interesting answer. "Be specific!"

Optimus remained silent for a moment longer, not certain if admitting a certain event to Miko was a good idea, but none the less, he spoke. "I drove my tires over his faceplate."

Miko watched the steering wheel, wide eyed, mouth hanging open, before a large grin appeared on her face.

"Awesome!" Miko exclaimed, her hands raised to show her enthusiasm. She threw a punch towards Optimus' dashboard, but she didn't hit him. "Bet that left some nasty skid marks!"

Miko didn't receive a response, but she did notice that Optimus began to slow down. She looked out of the front window to see a large river a few meters in front of them. That was where the sound of rushing water came from, Miko realized. Optimus slowed to a stop, unbuckling his passenger and opening his door to let her out. Miko hopped out and onto the ground without a complaint. After Miko stepped a safe distance away, Optimus transformed, returning to his bipedal mode.

Optimus knelt down, placing his hand on the ground for Miko to get on. Miko took a second to realize what he wanted before she approached the hand and climbed on. Optimus stood back up, and Miko was surprised that she didn't struggle to stay standing from the movement. The ride up was actually quite smooth, as was the ride across the river as Optimus stepped over it. As soon as Optimus set foot on the other side, Miko voiced her thoughts.

"Why didn't you just drive through the water?" Miko asked, jerking her thumb at the river and looking at Optimus like he did something very stupid. "I mean, it's not like you would have been washed away."

She paused.

"Right?"

Optimus shook his head as he lowered Miko to the ground. "Perhaps not, but were I to enter that river in my vehicle mode, I would have been completely submerged. I would not contain enough oxygen in my cabin to sustain you for very long."

"We'd only be in there for, like, a minute," Miko protested after jumping off of the Autobot leader's hand, but she almost instantly lost interest in the conversation. She waved a hand dismissively, and placed her other hand on her hip. "Whatever. What do we do when we find the Energon?"

"I will contact the base and have the Energon relocated inside." Optimus answered, not turning his attention away incase the child had anything else to say.

She did, but it wasn't much. Miko watched Optimus for a moment longer before speaking. "Sweet."

Optimus nodded in acknowledgement as he viewed the area. There was a surprising lack of human tourists, most likely do to Fowler's intervenience, if Ratchet did indeed contact the Agent soon after they departed. There were still a few groups of hikers and explorers around, but they could be easily avoided. Optimus was just concerned that a Decepticon would show themselves and start a battle that would endanger everyone in the forest, human or otherwise. At the first sign of an imminent strike against him, he would be certain to send Miko back to the base, where she would be safe.

They had been walking for a while. Optimus was calmly looking over his surroundings, while Miko followed behind, much less content than him. She thought that going with Optimus on a mission would have been _fun_. She was very quickly doubting that anything to do with Optimus would be an interesting activity. Miko leaned against a nearby tree, only just noticing that they were much taller and wider than any kind of tree she had seen in Nevada. It also had leaves. There was a clearing a few trees away, and Optimus entered that area.

Miko didn't really care about that, though. She was just observing quietly for about four seconds before she perked up again. "Can you turn on your radio? It's really quiet out here."

Optimus glanced back to the child, noticing her posture and watching her in confusion. "Do you want to return to base?"

He didn't sound annoyed or threatening in the slightest as he spoke. The question had been completely innocent, but still, Miko let out a snort. "No, it'd be worse back there. Also, don't avoid the question! What, do you want everything to be completely silent all of the time? You can't hear anything around here!"

Optimus said nothing for a few seconds, then he spoke. "Do you not hear the nearby waterfall, or the living beings moving throughout this forest?"

"Yeah, but that's not what I _mean_," Miko said, rolling her eyes. She stared up at Optimus through the corner of her eye, looking very irritated. "Seriously, you're always so-"

Before Miko could finish her sentence, a small object flew loudly right above the trees, flying far too fast to be seen. It almost looked like a missile, but Miko couldn't be sure. She only saw a red blur go by. Miko pushed off of the tree and looked around the sky to see if she could spot it, but she saw nothing. She was about to ask about it when she heard a loud explosion and felt the ground tremble lightly beneath her boots. She couldn't see any fallen trees or rocks, so whatever happened had taken place far away. Miko quickly turned to Optimus.

"What's that?" Miko asked with some strange combination of resilience and excitement. She got into a defensive pose, fist ready to punch if she so desired. "Decepticon?"

"Stay here." Optimus ordered, gesturing for the child to hide. Miko ducked behind the tree she had been leaning against, though she still stole a peak to see what the Autobot leader was going to do. Optimus' hands retracted, and two guns appeared in their place. He began making his way in the direction the object had flown, and very soon he was out of sight. Miko tried to wait patiently. She really did, but it only took a minute for her to decide that there were better things to do than wait.

"'Stay here'?" Miko mimicked sarcastically. She scoffed. "Yeah, right. I came to see some action!"

Miko jumped from her hiding spot and began to run in the direction she heard the Autobot leader go. She didn't know exactly where, but she knew she would be able to hear his loud footsteps at some point if she kept going forward. She could only hear softer footsteps, getting louder and louder, so she assumed she was getting close.

All of a sudden she was lifted off of the ground, the shock of it making her gasp. "Woah!"

"What do we have here?" A familiar voice taunted. Miko pushed against the sharp fingers that held her hostage, but she didn't make a dent. Miko's eyes trailed along the large arm, all the way up to a faceplate Miko knew very well. The one who threatened her inside of the cave. The one who kept trying to hurt Arcee by bragging about what he did to her old partner.

The mech she was told went rogue.

Starscream grinned darkly, his grip on Miko tightening. "Bulkhead's little pet."

"I ain't afraid of you, _Con_," Miko snapped, kicking at him even though she was a good five feet away from anything she could actually hit. She gave up soon after that, but she glared into Starscream's optics. "_Former_ Con or not, the Autobots will rip out your tailpipe before you can blink!"

"Such strong words coming from such a weak creature," Starscream chuckled, then he gestured in the direction Miko had seen Optimus go. "The Prime is off chasing something that isn't there. By the time he realizes I made a complete fool out of him, you'll be in the same state as Cliffjumper."

Miko didn't get a chance to reply, as she could hear the sound of two familiar guns charging their fire, and she turned her head to see the Autobot leader come out of the trees with his weapons lowered, though still whirring threateningly. Miko would have laughed if she wasn't being held by a murderous alien robot bent on her species' destruction.

"Optimus Prime," Starscream growled, holding Miko tighter. He raised his free arm and pointed his remaining missile towards his hostage. "Don't even think about contacting your Autobots, or the human dies."

Optimus glared tensely, optics shifting to the struggling child for a brief seconds before returning to the rogue. "Let her go, Starscream."

"I thought you would have learned the first time this human caused your side to lose a battle," Starscream taunted, turning his occupied hand to inspect his prisoner before looking back to the Autobot leader with a smirk. "I see I was foolish to think that you would have realized something so obvious."

Suddenly, Optimus raised his arms and pointed his guns directly at Starscream. Miko's eyes almost bulged out of their sockets. She couldn't believe Optimus would let her get hurt. She was surprised when Starscream inhaled sharply and turned his missile towards the Prime in defense.

That was the opening Optimus needed. He fired, and Starscream was forced to duck, the blast singeing his shoulder. As he ducked, he instinctively opened both of his hands, and Miko slipped right through his fingers. She didn't even have the chance to scream before another hand grabbed her and pulled her in close. Miko kicked blindly before looking up and seeing Optimus holding her carefully, as gently as he could given their situation. Miko instantly relaxed, letting out a chuckle and turning back to Starscream. "What are you gonna do now, Screamy?"

Miko soon found herself lowered as close to the ground as Optimus could manage before he was knocked back by Starscream. Miko fell a few feet down onto the grass. She quickly picked herself up, rushing over behind a tree in hopes of staying out of sight. Optimus stood in front of where the child hid, trying to keep Starscream as far away from her as possible.

Optimus couldn't risk Miko getting hurt. He knew that moving to attack Starscream would startle the former Decepticon into giving him a chance to save the child. That was why he made that move. If there was even the slightest chance of Miko getting hurt from that action, then Optimus would never have taken it.

Miko pressed herself up against the tree as tightly as she could, before she realized something. She relaxed greatly, peeking around the corner of her hiding spot. She could see that both Optimus and Starscream were occupied with fighting. After a few more seconds of making sure that they weren't watching her, Miko pulled out her phone, flipping it open and raising it up until she saw both Cybertronians in the frame. She clicked a button, and the phone flashed as it took a picture.

The flash got the attention of Starscream, who shot a missile into Optimus' side. Optimus grunted in pain, freezing up for only a moment. That was the moment Starscream needed. Starscream turned towards Miko and made a move to grab her. Miko stumbled backwards onto the ground with a thump, her phone slipping from her grasp. Miko rubbed her backside with a wince before she noticed a large shadow looming over her. Starscream almost got her when Optimus punched the seeker directly in the faceplate, sending him flying backwards.

Starscream pushed himself up, looking very angry, but that anger was quickly replaced with fear when he saw Optimus drawing near. Starscream crawled over to a more dense part of the nearby forestry, reaching in and taking out some device Miko didn't recognize. He frantically pressed a button on the device, and a GroundBridge soon appeared behind him. Starscream grinned victoriously, but the proud moment was soon lost when Optimus shot at him again. Starscream quickly stood up and ran through the GroundBridge, Optimus running after only to reach the seeker just as the GroundBridge disappeared. Optimus stopped, standing still for a long moment before turning around to where Miko was sprawled. Miko stared up at him as he approached her.

Optimus knelt down next to Miko, glancing over her like a concerned parent before meeting her eyes. "Are you unharmed?"

"Uh," Miko looked herself over, only noticing a bruise or two from being held so tightly. Other than that she saw nothing. She shrugged. "Yeah."

Miko paused.

"Yeah!" Miko cheered from her sitting position, punching her fists into the air. "That was awesome! You sent Starscream running for his life!"

Optimus nodded in acknowledgement, all softness vanishing from his faceplate as he stood up. He placed his hand to the side of his helm, starting and uplink with the bases computers. "Ratchet, please send a GroundBridge to these coordinates."

"What?" Miko got up quickly, watching Optimus with wide eyes. "But, we didn't find the Energon yet!"

"The false trail Starscream had me follow incidentally led me to the location of the Energon deposit he was most likely searching for as well," Optimus explained, ending the uplink, his hand returning to his side. "I am sending its location back to headquarters."

Miko stared, saying nothing for almost a minute. She almost didn't believe it.

"Wow." Miko finally said with a blink. "Screamer's an idiot."

Optimus didn't show whether he agreed or disagreed with that statement, instead beginning to walk in the direction he had went when following Starscream's decoy. Miko waltzed along behind him, taking a good look around.

There were still a lot of trees.

In less than a minute, Miko could hear the sound of rushing water. She almost thought they were at the river again, but she was soon proven wrong. She ran up beside Optimus to see a huge waterfall. The water roared before them. Optimus stopped for a moment and looked down to Miko, who was watching the waterfall with apparent interest.

Miko walked in front of Optimus, over to where the water streamed into a river, most likely one that lead to where they arrived. She noticed a log that fell directly across the water, and began to make her way across before Optimus could make any sort of objection. She almost slipped at one point, and Optimus made a move to catch her before she fell, but Miko managed to stay upright all the way to the other side. She hopped off of the log and smirked pleasantly as Optimus began to follow behind her, walking over the stream with only one step. Miko took the lead, even though she had absolutely no idea where she was going.

Miko soon heard Optimus stop moving, and she turned around to see him walk towards a vertical wall of rock, and Miko knew that the waterfall started from somewhere on the ground up there. Optimus gently moved a few tree branches aside. Imbedded in the rocks were glowing blue Energon crystals. Optimus carefully took the crystals into his hands, checking over the rocks to see if he had missed any, and returning his attention to the child beside him when he found nothing.

Suddenly, a GroundBridge opened up nearby. For a moment Miko thought it might have been Starscream coming back, so she got into some kind of karate stance she had seen in a movie, but when she looked over at Optimus and noticed that he didn't seem concerned by it at all, she calmed down. Optimus turned towards the portal, and began walking towards it. Miko followed close behind, and soon her surroundings changed from bright green forests to the rocky interior of the base.


	3. Chapter 3

The first thing Miko noticed once she stepped inside of the base was that it was louder than it had been before she left. That was good for Miko. Perhaps she wouldn't be bored and forced to resort to going on missions with _Optimus_ again, though that one time was a lot more fun than she though it would be.

Miko saw that Arcee was leaning against the wall, talking with Bumblebee about something, though if Miko tried to listen in she knew she would only understand half of the conversation. Ratchet was still looking over the monitors, but he appeared to be working on something _else_. Miko couldn't see Bulkhead. She hoped that he was somewhere in the back of the base. She decided that she would go look for him. She was certain that he would have something interesting to tell her. Maybe he found a Decepticon mine and took them all down or raced a bunch of Vehicons on the freeway. That would be _awesome_. Much cooler than her trip to Doug's park.

Optimus walked over to Arcee, and Miko assumed that he intended to scold her about racing illegally again, even though they had talked about it before. Miko smirked. She saw Arcee's optics widen slightly, apparently figuring out what Optimus had come to speak to her about. Miko hoped that Optimus wouldn't tell Arcee that she had accidentally told on them. If June found out, then Jack would get in trouble, and then he would probably refuse to play games with Miko for a week. Or three. Months.

Something else occurred to her. If Arcee was there, then Jack was probably there as well. Miko stood on the tips of her toes and looked around, eyes following the catwalk over to where she had been sitting before she left.

Jack was sitting on the sofa with Rafael, who seemed to have stopped playing the game. Miko didn't think Rafael finished the game, but considering the fact that he could hack the Department of Defence if he so pleased, he most certainly might have. Jack apparently didn't notice that Miko had entered, only seeing Optimus walk in and most likely assuming that he came back alone. Miko waved casually. "Hey, Jack!"

The colorfully dressed girl quickly caught the boy's attention when she called his name. Jack turned his head and watched Miko with an eyebrow raised, sitting up straighter in his seat. "Where were you?"

Miko returned the look, putting her hands on her hips as she walked closer to the stairs. "Ratchet didn't tell you? He was only yanking out cords from a computer!"

Ignoring a disgruntled hum the medic gave in response to that jab, Jack shook his head, laying back into the couch again. "I thought you were with Bulkhead, since he isn't here either."

Miko stared, mouth open in disbelief. Her shoulders slumped and she visibly slouched. "He's _still_ out?"

Jack nodded, and Miko let out a loud and exaggerated groan as she trudged up the steps. Her feet dragged as she made her way over to her friends, plopping herself down onto the sofa to sit with them. Jack and Rafael began to continue the conversation they were having before Miko and Optimus returned, but Miko didn't really pay attention. She was too busy thinking about how bored she was getting, even though it had only been a few minutes since she arrived.

Suddenly, Miko perked up, grabbing Jack's shoulder with her excitement and completely interrupting the conversation her friends had been having. "Oh, I got some cool snaps of Optimus beating up Starscream!"

"You _what?_" Ratchet spoke up, completely forgetting about his work and looking very shocked, though his question was directed at Optimus. He instantly noticed the wound on the Autobot leader's side, and immediately began to check over it. "_Starscream_ was there?"

Optimus nodded in confirmation, allowing himself to be led over to a medical berth, knowing that any attempt to argue with Ratchet would not end in his favor. Optimus spoke up after he sat down and Ratchet began a scan of the injury. "It appears that Starscream has acquired the means to detect Energon. How, I am not certain."

Ratchet deemed that the damage was not severe, and backed up to give Optimus room to stand. He still wanted to repair the damage as soon as possible, but it could wait if necessary. Ratchet raised a hand to his chin in thought. "Since he is no longer with the Decepticons, he doesn't have access to their systems aboard the Nemesis."

"My phone."

Everyone in the room looked over to Miko, who had interrupted yet another conversation. She didn't look up at any of them, instead standing up and looking around the catwalk, then peaking over the railing and scanning the floor.

Miko backed up a few steps in confusion, then began patting her pockets repeatedly before looking up to Optimus, eyes wide. "I think I dropped it."

Jack stared at his friend with disbelief, while Rafael voiced both of their thoughts. "_Again?_"

"At least I could still find it myself," Miko snapped back. She raised her hand and raised two fingers. "If you lost your glasses you couldn't count how many fingers I'm holding up!"

"Hey!" Rafael spoke up defensively.

Optimus quickly intervened to stop the argument from proceeding further. He glanced over to Ratchet, voice stern as he stood. "I will return to the location where the Energon was discovered and retrieve the item."

"What?" Miko said in protest as Optimus turned to face where the GroundBridge would soon appear. She wasn't protesting the thought of getting her phone back. She wanted her phone back, obviously, but it was _her_ phone. "You have to take me with you!"

"It is far too dangerous," Optimus replied with a shake of his head, facing Miko and raising a hand to show that she was not allowed to follow. "Starscream may return. I will not risk putting you in harm's way."

Miko let out a sound of disbelief, crossing her arms and pouting slightly. She turned around as if she was going to walk deeper into the base, but before she could move, Arcee took a few steps towards her. "He's right, Miko. He's only going to be gone for a minute. If anything happens we'll be right out there to help him."

Miko wasn't going to tell Arcee that the reason she wanted to go was to get her phone back herself, and not because she was concerned about Optimus. She just watched him take down Screamer. So what if the former 'Con was a bit of a wimp. The other Decepticons were just as wimpy. There was no _way_ they could take the big 'O down.

Arcee walked over to where Jack and Rafael were sitting, and Jack started speaking to her about something, thought Miko didn't really care. Bumblebee had moved to stand by the GroundBridge controls, and on Ratchet's command he pulled the lever. The GroundBridge whirled to life just as it did before. Optimus began walking through.

Miko glanced around her. Everyone seemed distracted. No one was paying any attention to her. In most cases that would irritate her, but for once that was exactly what she wanted. Miko bolted towards the portal just as Optimus disappeared through it, and before Bumblebee even made a move to close the portal, Miko's surroundings returned to what they had been only minutes before. She recognized the wall of rocks where Optimus had found the Energon crystals. Miko turned around to see the last flicker of light vanish. She smirked. Miko almost didn't believe that no one noticed her run through.

Miko looked to her right and saw a glimpse of Optimus walking through the trees, back the way they came. Miko made sure that she was quiet as she walked back over the log across the river, following behind him, running behind tree after tree to stay out of sight incase Optimus turned around. He could still call the base and have them GroundBridge her back. And she would get yelled at or something. They'd tell her never to do it again and whatever. She never got hurt when she went through. She didn't understand what their problem was.

Miko realized that she had been distracted by her own thoughts and lost sight of Optimus. Miko looked around, and even turned a full circle trying to spot him. Miko sighed, hands on her hips. She only just started thinking about how Optimus might GroundBridge back without her. And he'd have her phone. So she wouldn't be able to call Jack and tell him where she was.

Oh, they'd figure it out.

Miko was just looking around again when she heard whirring and thumping and voices coming from a ways away from her. Miko perked up, wondering if Optimus tripped on something. She chuckled at the thought, running towards where she heard the sounds. She still ducked behind the trees to stay out of Optimus' sight. Up ahead, Miko could see the clearing from before. She was just about to run in when she saw Optimus. And others. Many, many others.

Vehicons surrounded Optimus, leaving him without an opening as they raised their guns towards him. Megatron stood tall in front of the Decepticons, watching Optimus intently. Dreadwing stood nearby, though a few feet behind and to the side, a large gun in his hands. Knock Out stood a good distance away from Megatron, apparently having witnessed what usually happened to any Cybertronian closest to their leader whenever he got angry.

Knock Out was rarely ever out on the field. Optimus highly doubted that the Decepticons were low on Energon, so perhaps they were attempting to keep his Autobots from having the amount they needed. Knock Out took a small step towards the Autobot leader, and he smirked, holding Miko's phone between two fingers. "Looking for this?"

Miko gaped at the Decepticon medic. It was highly unlikely that he was looking at what was on it, but it was open and she had taken pictures of Autobots at the base and probably _outside of the base_. If the Decepticons found out where the base was, Miko knew that the Autobots would beat them and send them flying, but she had seen her friends get hurt. Arcee had been damaged in space when they shut down the SpaceBridge, Optimus almost died from a virus, and Bulkhead had almost lost his mind.

Miko cried out, not really thinking about the consequences of her actions. "That's my phone, you creep!"

Every Cybertronians attention turned to her, and Miko quickly realized her mistake. Optimus' optics visibly widened, but he returned his sights to the opposing team as to not be taken by a surprise attack. The Decepticons began to spread out around him, some switching positions to make sure that Optimus had absolutely no chance of escape.

"Miko, run." Optimus ordered, his hands replacing themselves with blades. He stepped back carefully, trying his best to prevent the Decepticons from getting to the child.

It was Miko's turn to hesitate, but she quickly recovered. She took a few steps backwards as well, keeping her eyes on the Autobot leader before she turned around and began to sprint. She only managed to get a few feet before a large foot landed directly in front of her, making her fall backwards onto her behind and knocking the wind out of her. She followed the limb with her eyes until they made contact with the red ones of the medic, who still held the phone between his fingers. "Not so fast, fleshling."

Miko didn't even have a chance to speak before she watched gun fire fly over her head and hit Knock Out directly in the chest, knocking him backwards a few meters. She felt herself get picked up and moved away very quickly, almost making her sick. She was placed down as gently as she could have been given the situation. Miko looked up to see Optimus standing directly in front of her, and she saw one Vehicon laying on the ground, apparently having been stabbed. Optimus had managed to get out of the circle the Decepticons formed around him, but they began closing in once again.

"You're outnumbered, Prime," Megatron said with a smirk, his sharp denta pressed together in his grin. "Trying to fight us will only ensure your destruction."

Optimus glared, his stance becoming slightly more defensive to try to keep Miko safe, though he still stood strong. "I will never stand down, Megatron."

"I don't plan on making you stand down," Megatron replied, his blade sliding out with an audible screech. "I intend to make you _fall_."

It was hard for Miko to keep track of everything, almost reminding her of when she and the other kids were on the Nemesis for the first time. Optimus seemed like he was holding his own against Megatron, dodging a swing of the Con's blade before kicking him back a short distance, though Megatron didn't act like the move had any effect on him at all. Optimus used the few seconds of it would take Megatron to return by shooting down two Vehicons, and stabbing another in the chest.

Dreadwing raised his giant gun and fired, hitting Optimus' side, right where Starscream had hit him before. The wound opened right back up again, bleeding right away. Optimus visibly tensed, but managed to recover and fire back. The blasts hit Dreadwing, but seemed to do nothing to him. Optimus swung at another Vehicon that lunged at him, taking it down before being hit by another. The Decepticons were closing in quickly, even though Optimus was fighting hard.

Miko quickly picked herself up and started running, not really looking where she was going. She glanced back behind her, for only a second, but when she looked forward again she gasped and skidded to a stop just before she ran off of a cliff. It wasn't a mountain, but it was big. Miko stepped back from it, trying to think of what she should do, and she looked to her left and right to see if there were any Decepticons closing in on her. That's when she realized that she couldn't hear anything.

No gunfire. No screeches of metal hitting metal. No Optimus telling her that the fight was won.

Miko slowly turned around, and saw Optimus kneeling on the ground. She could see Energon leaking from cracks in his frame. He was bleeding from his mouth as well. The Decepticons weren't closing in on him, except for Megatron, who held his sword over the Autobot leader's head. Miko didn't know what to think. She knew what would happen if Megatron swung, but it couldn't possibly happen. Optimus wouldn't go down like that. He wouldn't go down _ever_.

Megatron stared down at Optimus, and a smirk could be heard in his voice. "I keep my word, Optimus."

With that, Megatron used all of his might to kick Optimus right across the clearing, right over Miko's head, and over the cliff. She watched his body crash down the rocks, before hitting the bottom and laying there, unmoving.

Miko was frozen from shock. She stared at the body laying below her, not really believing what she was seeing. She hadn't seen him go down before. She had heard about it, but she had never _seen_ it. It would have been hard to believe, did it not happen right in front of her. Miko's voice was quiet as she spoke, trying to sound hopeful. "Optimus?"

Knock Out stepped towards her, and she tried to slide backwards, though she didn't go very far. Knock Out knelt down to peer at Autobot leader, standing only ten feet away from Miko. Knock Out looked over him before turning his attention to the child. He slowly reached out to grab her.

"He can't hear you, fleshling."


End file.
